A priceless gold wreath has been unearthed in an ancient city in northern Greece, buried with human bones in a large copper vase that workers initially took for a land mine.

The University of Thessaloniki said in a statement Friday that the "astonishing" discovery was made during its excavations this week in the ruins of ancient Aigai. The city was the first capital of ancient Macedonia, where King Philip II — father of Alexander the Great — was assassinated.

Gold wreaths are rare and were buried with ancient nobles or royalty. But the find is also highly unusual as the artifacts appear to have been removed from a grave during ancient times and, for reasons that are unclear, reburied in the city's marketplace near the theater where Philip was stabbed to death.

"This happened quite soon after the original burial; it's not that a grave robber
took it centuries later and hid it with the intention of coming back,"
excavator Chryssoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli told The Associated Press.
"It probably belonged to a high-ranking person."

The "impressively large" copper vessel contained a cylindrical
golden jar with a lid, with the gold wreath of oak leaves and the bones
inside.

"The young workman who saw it was astounded and shouted 'land mine!'" the university statement said.

Saatsoglou-Paliadeli, a professor of archaeology at the university, said the find probably dates to the 4th century B.C., during which Philip and Alexander reigned.

"Archaeologists must explain why such a group ... was found outside
the extensive royal cemetery," the university statement said. "(They
must also) work out why the bones of the unknown — but by no means
insignificant — person were hidden in the city's most public and sacred
area."

During the 4th century B.C., burials outside organized cemeteries were very uncommon.